LisaP said:
We finally got our stove installed last week! We are 3 days into burning and still are not sure if we got the afterburn going. We get the stove flue temp to about 600, have a thick coal bed and then switch to AB. Our temp then drops to 300 or below and it seems like the fire has gone out!? Have not heard any loud sounds. When AB is working is all the flame gone?
First a few questions:
1) When you say 600 is that external double wall temp or internal?
The internal flue temp should be around 1K when you start the AB or around 500 stove top.
2) When you say 300, what temp are our measuring?
3) How seasoned is your wood?
Ways to determine if AB is working properly.
1) No smoke from chimney
2) Stove top temps should stay above 400 when on level 1 and should hover around 450
3) An occasional flame or a rolling flame on the top of the wood
4) The amount of heat expelled when you put it in AB.
Before if you hold your bare hand over the top back of the stove you should feel heat but not enough to be unpleasant.
If you have it in AB you hold your hand over the top back and it will get uncomfortable quite quickly.
5) You may also hear a rushing sound when you first put it into AB sorta like a jet.
If none of these are happen or if you had a stall.
Just fire the stove back up to 1K internal flue or around 500 stove top and try again.
Since this stove is a downdraft stove it take a little while to get used to, but once you figure it out you will be able to get 10+ hour burns (stove top above 400) on level 1.
PS: On Saturday it was -10 outside, I was downstairs grilling a T bone steak on the grill over the woodfire and the temps in the basement were above 80.